KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
Aug. 02, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocesan priest, faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to five of 13 charges of child pornography leveled against him.
Ratigan originally pleaded not guilty to the federal charges of possession and production of child pornography.
The change in plea was made in federal court Thursday afternoon in Kansas City. The prosecution agreed to drop Ratigan’s other eight charges if he pleaded guilty to the five. Each count carries between 15 and 30 years in prison, which could be served consecutively or cumulatively.
Ratigan’s sentencing date has not yet been set.
The case made headlines in the fall when prosecutors in Jackson County, Mo., separately charged Bishop Robert Finn and the Kansas City diocese with individual counts of failure to report suspected child abuse, which are criminal misdemeanors, regarding their oversight of the priest.
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